BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

How To Use An Executive Coach

Forbes Coaches Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Starla Sireno

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably heard about executive coaching, but you might not have any real concept of how it works.

• What can an executive coach help me with?

• What do you actually talk about with an executive coach?

• What happens behind closed doors in a coaching session?

Maybe your curiosity has been sparked by a friend who can’t stop talking about the “work” they’re doing with their coach. Or perhaps you’ve been identified by management as a high potential who could benefit from working with a coach. (And rather than worry that this signals some form of performance management, know that most organizations view executive coaching as a significant investment in the development and growth of their people.)

There are many ways to develop yourself professionally — workshops, engaging with a mentor, getting involved with professional organizations or building your skills through community or nonprofit work.

Coaching is one form of development. Because coaching is highly personalized and requires a significant investment of time and energy, it isn't for everyone. But if you're wondering if it is right for you at this point in your career, here are the three most common reasons why people embark on an executive coaching journey.

1. You have a big goal.

One of my clients wants to be in the C-suite. After a career of advocating for her projects and her team, she knows that when it comes to her own career development, she is not advocating for what she wants. This realization is nothing new; however, the difference is that over the past few years, she has seen others less qualified moving forward, and she’s still in the same place. She realizes that “what got you here won’t get you there.” She needed someone who would help her showcase her contributions to the organization and ask for what she wants. While our sessions sometimes focus on the tactics — how to have these conversations — the more important discussions are about what thoughts, beliefs and perceptions get in the way.

For my client, she was treading in unfamiliar and uncomfortable terrain that was steeped in beliefs about seeming selfish and ungrateful. In cases like this, the issue wasn't about skill-building or something that she could get in a class.

An executive coach can help you uncover what thoughts and beliefs you have that are holding you back from doing what you truly desire.

2. You know you need to step it up.

You’re profoundly aware of your shortcomings, but you don’t know how to change. One of my clients consistently gets the same feedback that she lacks executive presence, particularly when presenting to the executive team. She knows she gets nervous and could appear more confident, but she doesn’t know what to do with the feedback. I shadowed her at one of these meetings and immediately saw that she spent most of the presentation turned sideways, pointing to her slides. By turning away from her audience and by not maintaining eye contact, she lost her audience’s attention. We worked on shifting her analytical orientation in explaining each number on the slide to addressing the interests of the executive team while paying attention to any unconscious messages being transmitted by her body language.

An executive coach steps into your world to understand the culture of your organization, the stakeholders, their personalities and how best to influence them. They then give highly personalized feedback based on the situation. By giving objective feedback and working together on a consistent basis, the changes that a client makes are more likely to be "sticky."

3. You’re stuck.

You’ve successfully created your current life only to realize that it’s not what you imagined. If so, you're like one of my clients who had spent over 20 years building a successful career in financial services. He found that his original passions around business development and pitching innovative financial products were no longer part of his everyday life. He now spent his time in meetings, on conference calls and managing people. With a family to support, he wondered if he should just spend the next 10 years “getting by” until he could retire. Once he got clear about what parts of his role gave him energy and which aspects exhausted him, he created a new job description that got him out from behind the computer and back in front of clients, adding more revenue to the bottom line.

Few people have the time to reflect, and even if they do, it's hard to know where to start. More often than not, we are in a state of reactivity. At its core, executive coaching does one thing: It moves clients from reacting to creating. An executive coach can help you gain clarity about what energizes you, your strengths, vision and values. While the real work and the answers ultimately come from you, a coach can offer a valuable opportunity to take a step back and help you ask the right questions.

Professional development takes many forms, all of which can complement each other. If you find yourself wanting a “thinking partner,” someone who can help you see a bigger picture, someone who can guide you through some bigger questions about what matters most and what you want to create and someone who will challenge you to be a better version of yourself, then it might be time to consider working with an executive coach.

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?